(the son of Muhib) An Egyptian who came and performed the Hajj to the Ka`ba saw some people sitting. He enquire, "Who are these people?" Somebody said, "They are the tribe of Quraish." He said, "Who is the old man sitting amongst them?" The people replied, "He is `Abdullah bin `Umar." He said, "O Ibn `Umar! I want to ask you about something; please tell me about it. Do you know that `Uthman fled away on the day (of the battle) of Uhud?" Ibn `Umar said, "Yes." The (Egyptian) man said, "Do you know that `Uthman was absent on the day (of the battle) of Badr and did not join it?" Ibn `Umar said, "Yes." The man said, "Do you know that he failed to attend the Ar Ridwan pledge and did not witness it (i.e. Hudaibiya pledge of allegiance)?" Ibn `Umar said, "Yes." The man said, "Allahu Akbar!" Ibn `Umar said, "Let me explain to you (all these three things). As for his flight on the day of Uhud, I testify that Allah has excused him and forgiven him; and as for his absence from the battle of Badr, it was due to the fact that the daughter of Allah's Apostle was his wife and she was sick then. Allah's Apostle said to him, "You will receive the same reward and share (of the booty) as anyone of those who participated in the battle of Badr (if you stay with her).' As for his absence from the Ar-Ridwan pledge of allegiance, had there been any person in Mecca more respectable than `Uthman (to be sent as a representative). Allah's Apostle would have sent him instead of him. No doubt, Allah's Apostle had sent him, and the incident of the Ar-Ridwan pledge of Allegiance happened after `Uthman had gone to Mecca. Allah's Apostle held out his right hand saying, 'This is `Uthman's hand.' He stroke his (other) hand with it saying, 'This (pledge of allegiance) is on the behalf of `Uthman.' Then Ibn `Umar said to the man, 'Bear (these) excuses in mind with you.'

"Once Mu`adh was along with Allah's Apostle as a companion rider. Allah's Apostle said, "O Mu`adh bin Jabal." Mu`adh replied, "Labbaik and Sa`daik. O Allah's Apostle!" Again the Prophet said, "O Mu`adh!" Mu`adh said thrice, "Labbaik and Sa`daik, O Allah's Apostle!" Allah's Apostle said, "There is none who testifies sincerely that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is his Apostle, except that Allah, will save him from the Hell-fire." Mu`adh said, "O Allah's Apostle ! Should I not inform the people about it so that they may have glad tidings?" He replied, "When the people hear about it, they will solely depend on it." Then Mu`adh narrated the above-mentioned Hadith just before his death, being afraid of committing sin (by not telling the knowledge).

A son of one of the daughters of the Prophet was dying, so she sent a person to call the Prophet. He sent (her a message), "What ever Allah takes is for Him, and whatever He gives is for Him, and everything has a limited fixed term (in this world) so she should be patient and hope for Allah's reward." She then sent for him again, swearing that he should come. Allah's Apostle got up, and so did Mu`adh bin Jabal, Ubai bin Ka`b and 'Ubada bin As-Samit. When he entered (the house), they gave the child to Allah's Apostle while its breath was disturbed in his chest. (The sub-narrator said: I think he said, "...as if it was a water skin.") Allah's Apostle started weeping whereupon Sa`d bin 'Ubada said, "Do you weep?" The Prophet said, "Allah is merciful only to those of His slaves who are merciful (to others).

We did not, write anything from the Prophet except the Qur'an and what is written in this paper, (wherein) the Prophet said, "Medina is a sanctuary from (the mountain of) Air to so and-so, therefore, whoever innovates (in it) an heresy or commits a sin, or gives shelter to such an innovator, will incur the Curse of Allah. the angels and all the people; and none of his compulsory or optional good deeds of worship will be accepted And the asylum granted by any Muslim Is to be secured by all the Muslims even if it is granted by one of the lowest social status among them. And whoever betrays a Muslim in this respect will incur the Curse of Allah, the angels and all the people, and his compulsory and optional good deeds of worship will not be accepted. And any freed slave will take as masters (befriends) people other than his own real masters who freed him without taking the permission of the latter, will incur the Curse of Allah, the angels and all the people, and his compulsory and optional good deeds of worship will not be accepted."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said, "On the Day of Uhud, The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Who will bring me news of Sad ibn al-Rabi al-Ansari?' a man said, 'Me, Messenger of Allah!' So the man went around among the slain, and Sad ibn al-Rabi said to him, 'What are you doing?' The man said to him, 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent me to bring him news of you.' He said, 'Go to him, and give him my greetings, and tell him that I have been stabbed twelve times, and am mortally wounded. Tell your people that they will have no excuse with Allah if the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is slain while one of them is still alive.' "

One day Allah's Apostle narrated to us a long narration about Ad-Dajjal and among the things he narrated to us, was: "Ad-Dajjal will come, and he will be forbidden to enter the mountain passes of Medina. He will encamp in one of the salt areas neighboring Medina and there will appear to him a man who will be the best or one of the best of the people. He will say 'I testify that you are Ad-Dajjal whose story Allah's Apostle has told us.' Ad-Dajjal will say (to his audience), 'Look, if I kill this man and then give him life, will you have any doubt about my claim?' They will reply, 'No,' Then Ad- Dajjal will kill that man and then will make him alive. The man will say, 'By Allah, now I recognize you more than ever!' Ad-Dajjal will then try to kill him (again) but he will not be given the power to do so."

I rode behind Allah's Apostle from `Arafat and when Allah's Apostle reached the mountain pass on the left side which is before Al-Muzdalifa he made his camel kneel and then urinated, and then I poured water for his ablution. He performed light ablution and then I said to him: (Is it the time for) the prayer, O Allah's Apostle!" He replied, "The (place of) prayer is ahead of you (i.e. at Al- Muzdalifa)." So Allah's Apostle rode till he reached Al-Muzdalifa and then he offered the prayer (there) . Then in the morning (10th Dhul-Hijja) Al-Faql (bin `Abbas) rode behind Allah's Apostle. Kuraib, (a sub-narrator) said that `Abdullah bin `Abbas narrated from Al-Fadl, "Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) kept on reciting Talbiya (during the journey) till he reached the Jamra." (Jamrat-Al-`Aqaba)

The Prophet said, "A prophet amongst the prophets carried out a holy military expedition, so he said to his followers, 'Anyone who has married a woman and wants to consummate the marriage, and has not done so yet, should not accompany me; nor should a man who has built a house but has not completed its roof; nor a man who has sheep or shecamels and is waiting for the birth of their young ones.' So, the prophet carried out the expedition and when he reached that town at the time or nearly at the time of the `Asr prayer, he said to the sun, 'O sun! You are under Allah's Order and I am under Allah's Order O Allah! Stop it (i.e. the sun) from setting.' It was stopped till Allah made him victorious. Then he collected the booty and the fire came to burn it, but it did not burn it. He said (to his men), 'Some of you have stolen something from the booty. So one man from every tribe should give me a pledge of allegiance by shaking hands with me.' (They did so and) the hand of a man got stuck over the hand of their prophet. Then that prophet said (to the man), 'The theft has been committed by your people. So all the persons of your tribe should give me the pledge of allegiance by shaking hands with me.' The hands of two or three men got stuck over the hand of their prophet and he said, "You have committed the theft.' Then they brought a head of gold like the head of a cow and put it there, and the fire came and consumed the booty. The Prophet added: Then Allah saw our weakness and disability, so he made booty legal for us."

When the Verse:--'And warn your tribe of near-kindred, was revealed, the Prophet ascended the Safa (mountain) and started calling, "O Bani Fihr! O Bani `Adi!" addressing various tribes of Quraish till they were assembled. Those who could not come themselves, sent their messengers to see what was there. Abu Lahab and other people from Quraish came and the Prophet then said, "Suppose I told you that there is an (enemy) cavalry in the valley intending to attack you, would you believe me?" They said, "Yes, for we have not found you telling anything other than the truth." He then said, "I am a warner to you in face of a terrific punishment." Abu Lahab said (to the Prophet) "May your hands perish all this day. Is it for this purpose you have gathered us?" Then it was revealed: "Perish the hands of Abu Lahab (one of the Prophet's uncles), and perish he! His wealth and his children will not profit him...." (111.1-5)

My father was martyred on the day (of the battle) of Uhud and his creditors demanded the debt back in a harsh manner. So I went to Allah's Apostle and informed him of that, he asked them to accept the fruits of my garden and excuse my father, but they refused. So, Allah's Apostle did not give them the fruits, nor did he cut them and distribute them among them, but said, "I will come to you tomorrow morning." So, he came to us the next morning and walked about in between the date-palms and invoked Allah to bless their fruits. I plucked the fruits and gave back all the rights of the creditors in full, and a lot of fruits were left for us. Then I went to Allah's Apostle, who was sitting, and informed him about what happened. Allah's Apostle told `Umar, who was sitting there, to listen to the story. `Umar said, "Don't we know that you are Allah's Apostle? By Allah! you are Allah's Apostle!"

I heard Anas bin Malik saying, "On a Friday a person entered the main Mosque through the gate facing the pulpit while Allah's Apostle was delivering the Khutba. The man stood in front of Allah's Apostle and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! The livestock are dying and the roads are cut off; so please pray to Allah for rain.' " Anas added, "Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) raised both his hands and said, 'O Allah! Bless us with rain! O Allah! Bless us with rain! O Allah! Bless us with rain!' " Anas added, "By Allah, we could not see any trace of cloud in the sky and there was no building or a house between us and (the mountains of) Sila." Anas added, "A heavy cloud like a shield appeared from behind it (i.e. Sila' Mountain). When it came in the middle of the sky, it spread and then rained." Anas further said, "By Allah! We could not see the sun for a week. Next Friday a person entered through the same gate and at that time Allah's Apostle was delivering the Friday's Khutba. The man stood in front of him and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! The livestock are dying and the roads are cut off, please pray to Allah to withhold rain.' " Anas added, "Allah's Apostle I raised both his hands and said, 'O Allah! Round about us and not on us. O Allah! On the plateaus, on the mountains, on the hills, in the valleys and on the places where trees grow.' So the rain stopped and we came out walking in the sun." Sharik asked Anas whether it was the same person who had asked for the rain (the last Friday). Anas replied that he did not know.

I went out of Medina towards Al-Ghaba. When I reached the mountain path of Al-Ghaba, a slave of `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf met me. I said to him, "Woe to you! What brought you here?" He replied, "The she-camels of the Prophet have been taken away." I said, "Who took them?" He said, "Ghatafan and Fazara." So, I sent three cries, "O Sabaha-h ! O Sabahah !" so loudly that made the people in between its (i.e. Medina's) two mountains hear me. Then I rushed till I met them after they had taken the camels away. I started throwing arrows at them saying, "I am the son of Al-Akwa`"; and today perish the mean people!" So, I saved the she-camels from them before they (i.e. the robbers) could drink water. When I returned driving the camels, the Prophet met me, I said, "O Allah's Apostle Those people are thirsty and I have prevented them from drinking water, so send some people to chase them." The Prophet said, "O son of Al-Akwa`, you have gained power (over your enemy), so forgive (them). (Besides) those people are now being entertained by their folk."

A man from the Jews, having been slapped on his face, came to the Prophet and said, "O Muhammad! A man from your companions from the Ansar has slapped me on my face!" The Prophet said, "Call him." When they called him, the Prophet said, "Why did you slap him?" He said, "O Allah's Apostle! While I was passing by the Jews, I heard him saying, 'By Him Who selected Moses above the human beings,' I said, 'Even above Muhammad?' I became furious and slapped him on the face." The Prophet said, "Do not give me superiority over the other prophets, for on the Day of Resurrection the people will become unconscious and I will be the first to regain consciousness. Then I will see Moses holding one of the legs of the Throne. I will not know whether he has come to his senses before me or that the shock he had received at the Mountain, (during his worldly life) was sufficient for him."

We were with the Prophet when suddenly there came to him a messenger from one of his daughters who was asking him to come and see her son who was dying. The Prophet said (to the messenger), "Go back and tell her that whatever Allah takes is His, and whatever He gives is His, and everything with Him has a limited fixed term (in this world). So order her to be patient and hope for Allah's reward." But she sent the messenger to the Prophet again, swearing that he should come to her. So the Prophet got up, and so did Sa`d bin 'Ubada and Mu`adh bin Jabal (and went to her). When the child was brought to the Prophet his breath was disturbed in his chest as if it were in a water skin. On that the eyes of the Prophet became flooded with tears, whereupon Sa`d said to him, "O Allah's Apostle! What is this?" The Prophet said, "This is mercy which Allah has put in the heart of His slaves, and Allah bestows His mercy only on those of His slaves who are merciful (to others)."

Mu`adh bin Jabal used to pray with the Prophet and then go to lead his people in prayer. Once he led the people in prayer and recited Surat-al-Baqara. A man left (the row of the praying people) and offered (light) prayer (separately) and went away. When Mu`adh came to know about it, he said. "He (that man) is a hypocrite." Later that man heard what Mu`adh said about him, so he came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! We are people who work with our own hands and irrigate (our farms) with our camels. Last night Mu`adh led us in the (night) prayer and he recited Sura-al-Baqara, so I offered my prayer separately, and because of that, he accused me of being a hypocrite." The Prophet called Mu`adh and said thrice, "O Mu`adh! You are putting the people to trials? Recite 'Washshamsi wad-uhaha' (91) or'Sabbih isma Rabbi ka-l-A'la' (87) or the like."

A Jew whose face had been slapped (by someone), came to the Prophet and said, "O Muhammad! A man from your Ansari companions slapped me. " The Prophet said, "Call him". They called him and the Prophet asked him, "Why did you slap his face?" He said, "O Allah's Apostle! While I was passing by the Jews, I heard him saying, 'By Him Who chose Moses above all the human beings.' I said (protestingly), 'Even above Muhammad?' So I became furious and slapped him." The Prophet said, "Do not give me preference to other prophets, for the people will become unconscious on the Day of Resurrection and I will be the first to gain conscious, and behold, I will Find Moses holding one of the pillars of the Throne (of Allah). Then I will not know whether he has become conscious before me or he has been exempted because of his unconsciousness at the mountain (during his worldly life) which he received."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Wahb ibn Kaysan that Jabir ibn Abdullah said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent a delegation to the coast. Abu Ubayda ibn al- Jarrah was in command of them. There were 300 people and I was among them. We went out until we had gone part of the way and our provisions were finished. Abu Ubayda ordered that the provisions of the army be gathered up and they amounted to two containers of dates. He used to give us a little provision from it each day until it was finished, and we used to have only a single date each. I said, 'What use is one date?' He said, 'We will certainly feel its loss when they are finished.' "

Jabir continued, "Then we reached the sea and there was a fish like a small mountain. The army ate from it for eighteen nights. Then Abu Ubayda ordered two ribs from it to be set up. Then he commanded that a camel be ridden underneath them and it did not touch them."

Ibn Mansur said: "I said to Ahmad: 'The Prophet (saws) gave the Nafl when he divided the fourth, after the Khumus, and when he was returning (he gave) the third from the Khumus.' So he said: 'The Khumus is taken, and then the Nafl is given from what remains, nothing beyond this.''"

[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is (understood) as Ibn Musayyab said: "The Nafl is from te Khumus." Ishaq said as he said.

Amr ibn Maymun al-Awdi said: Mu'adh ibn Jabal, the Messenger of the Messenger of Allah (saws) came to us in Yemen, I heard his takbir (utterance of AllahuAkbar) in the dawn prayer. He was a man with loud voice. I began to love him. I did depart from him until I buried him dead in Syria (i.e. until his death).

Then I searched for a person who had deep understanding in religion amongst the people after him. So I came to Ibn Mas'ud and remained in his company until his death. He (Ibn Mas'ud) said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said to me: How will you act when you are ruled by rulers who say prayer beyond its proper time? I said: What do you command me, Messenger of Allah, if I witness such a time? He replied: Offer the prayer at its proper time and also say your prayer along with them as a supererogatory prayer.

We went out with the Messenger of Allah (saws) and came to a woman of the Ansar in al-Aswaf. The woman brought her two daughters, and said: Messenger of Allah, these are the daughters of Thabit ibn Qays who was killed as a martyr when he was with you at the battle of Uhud, their paternal uncle has taken all their property and inheritance, and he has not left anything for them. What do you think, Messenger of Allah? They cannot be married unless they have some property. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Allah will decide regarding the matter. Then the verse of Surat an-Nisa was revealed: "Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children's (inheritance)." Messenger of Allah (saws) said: Call to me the woman and her husband's brother. He then said to their paternal uncle: Give them two-thirds and their mother an eighth, and what remains is yours.

Abu Dawud said: The narrator Bishr made a mistake. They were the daughters of Sa'd b. al-Rabi' for Thabit b. Qais was killed in the battle of Yamamah.

I was sitting in al-Batha with a company among whom the Messenger of Allah (saws) was sitting, when a cloud passed above them.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) looked at it and said: What do you call this? They said: Sahab.

He said: And muzn? They said: And muzn. He said: And anan? They said: And anan. AbuDawud said: I am not quite confident about the word anan. He asked: Do you know the distance between Heaven and Earth? They replied: We do not know. He then said: The distance between them is seventy-one, seventy-two, or seventy-three years. The heaven which is above it is at a similar distance (going on till he counted seven heavens). Above the seventh heaven there is a sea, the distance between whose surface and bottom is like that between one heaven and the next. Above that there are eight mountain goats the distance between whose hoofs and haunches is like the distance between one heaven and the next. Then Allah, the Blessed and the Exalted, is above that.

When it was the day of Uhud, the people left the Prophet while Abu Talha was in front of the Prophet shielding him with his leather shield. Abu Talha was a skillful archer who used to shoot violently. He broke two or three arrow bows on that day. If a man carrying a quiver full of arrows passed by, the Prophet would say (to him), put (scatter) its contents for Abu Talha." The Prophet would raise his head to look at the enemy, whereupon Abu Talha would say, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you ! Do not raise your head, lest an arrow of the enemy should hit you. (Let) my neck (be struck) rather than your neck." I saw `Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, and Um Sulaim rolling up their dresses so that I saw their leg-bangles while they were carrying water skins on their backs and emptying them in the mouths of the (wounded) people. They would return to refill them and again empty them in the mouths of the (wounded) people. The sword fell from Abu Talha's hand twice or thrice (on that day).

The daughter of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) sent (a messenger) to the Prophet requesting him to come as her child was dying (or was gasping), but the Prophet returned the messenger and told him to convey his greeting to her and say: "Whatever Allah takes is for Him and whatever He gives, is for Him, and everything with Him has a limited fixed term (in this world) and so she should be patient and hope for Allah's reward." She again sent for him, swearing that he should come. The Prophet got up, and so did Sa`d bin 'Ubada, Mu`adh bin Jabal, Ubai bin Ka`b, Zaid bin Thabit and some other men. The child was brought to Allah's Apostle while his breath was disturbed in his chest (the sub-narrator thinks that Usama added: ) as if it was a leather water-skin. On that the eyes of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) started shedding tears. Sa`d said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is this?" He replied, "It is mercy which Allah has lodged in the hearts of His slaves, and Allah is merciful only to those of His slaves who are merciful (to others).

"Allah's Apostle sent an army towards the east coast and appointed Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah as their chief, and the army consisted of three-hundred men including myself. We marched on till we reached a place where our food was about to finish. Abu- 'Ubaida ordered us to collect all the journey food and it was collected. My (our) journey food was dates. Abu 'Ubaida kept on giving us our daily ration in small amounts from it, till it was exhausted. The share of everyone of us used to be one date only." I said, "How could one date benefit you?" Jabir replied, "We came to know its value when even that too finished." Jabir added, "When we reached the sea-shore, we saw a huge fish which was like a small mountain. The army ate from it for eighteen days. Then Abu 'Ubaida ordered that two of its ribs be fixed and they were fixed in the ground. Then he ordered that a she-camel be ridden and it passed under the two ribs (forming an arch) without touching them."

The version of Musaddad has: "the goats (were collected) from the alms," and the tradition reported by 'Amr is complete.

Jabir bin `Abdullah said, "Allah's Apostle sent troops to the sea coast and appointed Abu 'Ubaida bin Al-Jarrah as their commander, and they were 300 (men). We set out, and we had covered some distance on the way, when our journey food ran short. So Abu 'Ubaida ordered that all the food present with the troops be collected, and it was collected. Our journey food was dates, and Abu Ubaida kept on giving us our daily ration from it little by little (piecemeal) till it decreased to such an extent that we did not receive except a date each." I asked (Jabir), "How could one date benefit you?" He said, "We came to know its value when even that finished." Jabir added, "Then we reached the sea (coast) where we found a fish like a small mountain. The people (i.e. troops) ate of it for 18 nights (i.e. days). Then Abu 'Ubaida ordered that two of its ribs be fixed on the ground (in the form of an arch) and that a she-camel be ridden and passed under them. So it passed under them without touching them."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Sharik ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Namir that Anas ibn Malik said, "A man came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, our animals are dying and our camels are too weak to travel, so make dua to Allah.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made dua, and it rained on us from one jumua to the next."

Anas continued, "Then a man came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, our houses have fallen down, the paths are blocked, and our flocks are dying.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'O Allah, (only) the mountain and hill-tops, the valley bottoms, and the places where trees grow.' "

Anas added, "It cleared away from Madina like a garment being removed."

Malik said, about a man who missed the prayer of asking for rain but caught the khutba, and wished to pray in the mosque, or in his house when he returned, "He is free to do so, or not, as he wishes."

`Ali addressed us while he was standing on a brick pulpit and carrying a sword from which was hanging a scroll He said "By Allah, we have no book to read except Allah's Book and whatever is on this scroll," And then he unrolled it, and behold, in it was written what sort of camels were to be given as blood money, and there was also written in it: 'Medina is a sanctuary form 'Air (mountain) to such and such place so whoever innovates in it an heresy or commits a sin therein, he will incur the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the people and Allah will not accept his compulsory or optional good deeds.' There was also written in it: 'The asylum (pledge of protection) granted by any Muslims is one and the same, (even a Muslim of the lowest status is to be secured and respected by all the other Muslims, and whoever betrays a Muslim in this respect (by violating the pledge) will incur the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the people, and Allah will not accept his compulsory or optional good deeds.' There was also written in it: 'Whoever (freed slave) befriends (takes as masters) other than his real masters (manumitters) without their permission will incur the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the people, and Allah will not accept his compulsory or optional good deeds. ' (See Hadith No. 94, Vol. 3)

On the day of the battle of Uhud, the people ran away, leaving the Prophet , but Abu- Talha was shielding the Prophet with his shield in front of him. Abu Talha was a strong, experienced archer who used to keep his arrow bow strong and well stretched. On that day he broke two or three arrow bows. If any man passed by carrying a quiver full of arrows, the Prophet would say to him, "Empty it in front of Abu Talha." When the Prophet stated looking at the enemy by raising his head, Abu Talha said, "O Allah's Prophet! Let my parents be sacrificed for your sake! Please don't raise your head and make it visible, lest an arrow of the enemy should hit you. Let my neck and chest be wounded instead of yours." (On that day) I saw `Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr and Um Sulaim both lifting their dresses up so that I was able to see the ornaments of their legs, and they were carrying the water skins of their arms to pour the water into the mouths of the thirsty people and then go back and fill them and come to pour the water into the mouths of the people again. (On that day) Abu Talha's sword fell from his hand twice or thrice.

Alqamah and al-Aswad said: A man came to Ibn Mas'ud. He said: I recite the mufassal surahs in one rak'ah. You might recite it quickly as one recites verse (poetry) quickly, or as the dried dates fall down (from the tree).

But the Prophet (saws) used to recite two equal surahs in one rak'ah; he would recite (for instance) surahs an-Najm (53) and ar-Rahman (55) in one rak'ah, surahs Iqtarabat (54) and al-Haqqah (69) in one rak'ah, surahs at-Tur (52) and adh-Dhariyat (51) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Waqi'ah (56) and Nun (68) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Ma'arij (70) and an-Nazi'at (79) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Mutaffifin (83) and Abasa (80) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Muddaththir (74) and al-Muzzammil (73) in one rak'ah, surahs al-Insan (76) and al-Qiyamah (75) in one rak'ah, surahs an-Naba' (78) and al-Mursalat (77) in one rak'ah, and surahs ad-Dukhan (44) and at-Takwir (81) in one rak'ah.

Abu Dawud said: This is the arrangement of Ibn Mas'ud himself

The Prophet said, "While three men were walking, It started raining and they took shelter (refuge) in a cave in a mountain. A big rock rolled down from the mountain and closed the mouth of the cave. They said to each other, "Think of good deeds which you did for Allah's sake only, and invoke Allah by giving reference to those deeds so that He may remove this rock from you." One of them said, 'O Allah! I had old parents and small children and I used to graze the sheep for them. On my return to them in the evening, I used to milk (the sheep) and start providing my parents first of all before my children. One day I was delayed and came late at night and found my parents sleeping. I milked (the sheep) as usual and stood by their heads. I hated to wake them up and disliked to give milk to my children before them, although my children were weeping (because of hunger) at my feet till the day dawned. O Allah! If I did this for Your sake only, kindly remove the rock so that we could see the sky through it.' So, Allah removed the rock a little and they saw the sky. The second man said, 'O Allah! I was in love with a cousin of mine like the deepest love a man may have for a woman. I wanted to outrage her chastity but she refused unless I gave her one hundred Dinars. So, I struggled to collect that amount. And when I sat between her legs, she said, 'O Allah's slave! Be afraid of Allah and do not deflower me except rightfully (by marriage).' So, I got up. O Allah! If I did it for Your sake only, please remove the rock.' The rock shifted a little more. Then the third man said, 'O Allah! I employed a laborer for a Faraq of rice and when he finished his job and demanded his right, I presented it to him, but he refused to take it. So, I sowed the rice many time till I gathered cows and their shepherd (from the yield). (Then after some time) He came and said to me, 'Fear Allah (and give me my right)." I said, 'Go and take those cows and the shepherd.' He said, 'Be afraid of Allah! Don't mock at me.' I said, 'I am not mocking at you. Take (all that).' So, he took all that. O Allah! If I did that for Your sake only, please remove the rest of the rock.' So, Allah removed the rock."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd al-Malik ibn Qurayr from Muhammad ibn Sirin that a man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said, "I was racing a friend on horseback towards a narrow mountain trail and we killed a gazelle accidently and we were in ihram. What is your opinion?" Umar said to a man by his side, "Come, so that you and I may make an assessment." They decided on a female goat for him, and the man turned away saying, "This amir al-muminin cannot even make an assessment in the case of a gazelle until he calls a man to decide with him." Umar overheard the man's words and called him and asked him, "Do you recite surat al-Ma'ida?" and he said, "No." He said, "Then do you recognize this man who has taken the decision with me?" and he said, "No." He said, "If you had told me that you did recite surat al-Ma'ida, I would have dealt you a blow." Then he said, "Allah the Blessed, the Exalted says in His Book, 'as shall be judged by two men of justice among you, a sacrificial animal to reach the Kaba' (Sura 5 ayat 95), and this is Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf."

`Abdullah bin Mas`ud related to us two narrations: One from the Prophet and the other from himself, saying: A believer sees his sins as if he were sitting under a mountain which, he is afraid, may fall on him; whereas the wicked person considers his sins as flies passing over his nose and he just drives them away like this." Abu Shihab (the sub-narrator) moved his hand over his nose in illustration. (Ibn Mas`ud added): Allah's Apostle said, "Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His slave than a man who encamps at a place where his life is jeopardized, but he has his riding beast carrying his food and water. He then rests his head and sleeps for a short while and wakes to find his riding beast gone. (He starts looking for it) and suffers from severe heat and thirst or what Allah wished (him to suffer from). He then says, 'I will go back to my place.' He returns and sleeps again, and then (getting up), he raises his head to find his riding beast standing beside him."

My father was martyred on the day (of the Ghazwa) of Uhud and left six daughters and some debts to be paid. When the time of plucking the date-fruits came, I went to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! you know that my father was martyred on Uhud's day and owed much debt, and I wish that the creditors would see you." The Prophet said, "Go and collect the various kinds of dates and place them separately in heaps"' I did accordingly and called him. On seeing him, the creditors started claiming their rights pressingly at that time. When the Prophet saw how they behaved, he went round the biggest heap for three times and sat over it and said, "Call your companions (i.e. the creditors)." Then he kept on measuring and giving them, till Allah cleared all my father's debts. By Allah, it would have pleased me that Allah would clear the debts of my father even though I had not taken a single date to my sisters. But by Allah, all the heaps were complete, (as they were) and I looked at the heap where Allah's Apostle was sitting and noticed as if not a single date had been taken thereof.

The Prophet sent seventy men from the tribe of Bani Salim to the tribe of Bani Amir. When they reached there, my maternal uncle said to them, "I will go ahead of you, and if they allow me to convey the message of Allah's Apostle (it will be all right); otherwise you will remain close to me." So he went ahead of them and the pagans granted him security But while he was reporting the message of the Prophet , they beckoned to one of their men who stabbed him to death. My maternal uncle said, "Allah is Greater! By the Lord of the Ka`ba, I am successful." After that they attached the rest of the party and killed them all except a lame man who went up to the top of the mountain. (Hammam, a sub-narrator said, "I think another man was saved along with him)." Gabriel informed the Prophet that they (i.e the martyrs) met their Lord, and He was pleased with them and made them pleased. We used to recite, "Inform our people that we have met our Lord, He is pleased with us and He has made us pleased " Later on this Qur'anic Verse was cancelled. The Prophet invoked Allah for forty days to curse the murderers from the tribe of Ral, Dhakwan, Bani Lihyan and Bam Usaiya who disobeyed Allah and his Apostle.

Once while a Jew was selling something, he was offered a price that he was not pleased with. So, he said, "No, by Him Who gave Moses superiority over all human beings!" Hearing him, an Ansari man got up and slapped him on the face and said, "You say: By Him Who Gave Moses superiority over all human beings although the Prophet (Muhammad) is present amongst us!" The Jew went to the Prophet and said, "O Abu-l-Qasim! I am under the assurance and contract of security, so what right does so-and-so have to slap me?" The Prophet asked the other, "Why have you slapped". He told him the whole story. The Prophet became angry, till anger appeared on his face, and said, "Don't give superiority to any prophet amongst Allah's Prophets, for when the trumpet will be blown, everyone on the earth and in the heavens will become unconscious except those whom Allah will exempt. The trumpet will be blown for the second time and I will be the first to be resurrected to see Moses holding Allah's Throne. I will not know whether the unconsciousness which Moses received on the Day of Tur has been sufficient for him, or has he got up before me. And I do not say that there is anybody who is better than Yunus bin Matta."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Hazim ibn Dinar that Abu Idris al-Khawlani said, "I entered the Damascus mosque and there was a young man with a beautiful mouth and white teeth sitting with some people. When they disagreed about something, they referred it to him and proceeded from his statement. I inquired about him, and it was said, 'This is Muadh ibn Jabal.' The next day I went to the noon-prayer, and I found that he had preceded me to the noon prayer and I found him praying."

Abu Idris continued, "I waited for him until he had finished the prayer. Then I came to him from in front of him and greeted him and said, 'By Allah! I love you for Allah!' He said, 'By Allah?' I said, 'By Allah.' He said, 'By Allah?' I said, 'By Allah.' He said, 'By Allah?' I said, 'By Allah.' "

He continued, "He took me by the upper part of my cloak and pulled me to him and said, 'Rejoice! I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, said, 'My love is obliged for those who love each other in Me, and those who sit with each other in Me, and those who visit each other in Me, and those who give to each other generously in Me.' " ' "

A thief's hand was not cut off for stealing something cheaper than a Hajafa or a Turs (two kinds of shields), each of which was worth a (respectable) price.